Dossier : The Bodyguard
by Dark0Nexus
Summary: There was a whole group of us, respected by any mercenaries. Suns. Bloodpacks. But it happened, none of us think it was possible, perhaps we're too cocky. In the end, I am the last of the Lunas. Never knew the loneliness and the darkness can hurt me like this. OC/Tali; mention Shepard/Garrus
1. Chapter 1

**Apologize for any grammar errors, English isn't really my first language. I'm just trying as I go (a bit acting like I know shit). Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Citadel, Zakera Mid-Ward District Level 26th, Ramen Stand, 11 pm.<em>

"C-sec claimed that the victim was shot and stabbed with a sharp weapon, presumably a knife. Detective Chellick, head investigator of the case, assumed that the victim attempted to escape the assault, but failed when he was shot in both of the his knees. The victim tried to crawl away, but the suspect murdered him with a final stab in the head. The victim, Marson Trin, had 3 bodyguards who were also found dead downstairs in the living room with bullet wounds in their heads. C-sec still…"

"Told that stubborn human, being a pain in the neck, someone will end up killing him."

"Hmph. That shit-head was lucky it wasn't our shift, if it was he would end up in some vent, being scooped out by urchins." The Krogan said then gulping down his beer, totally pissed off.

"Or it could be us in that room, brother. I know we lost our only well-paid job, but it isn't well enough to die like that." The younger Krogan said to the other, he was pissed too, but he tried to look at the bright side of things, it helps cooling off his temper. Sadly, it didn't apply for his brother.

"Grrr. Soft." He spat, then gritted his teeth. Anyone nearby can hear those gritting teeth/fangs.

The young Krogan rolled his eyes, and said "I know you mean nothing by it brother." His brother snorted at his words. The young Krogan finished his current drink, just how can the glass be this small, he thought. He still needs more, more of whatever this drink is. He looks at his brother and quickly changed "more" to "plenty".

"Hey Human!" He calls the stand owner. The stand owner jumps slightly when one of the pissed off Krogan customers call him. "H..Hai!" He turns his attention to them. "What can I get you, friend?"

"Another crappy drink!" The pissed Krogan spat. "Me too human." The younger said with less venom.

"Coming right up." He said while thinking, "Just please don't smash anything. "

The owner goes back to what he was doing before and that is serving ramen to one of his waiting customer. He takes the ramen and look at his other customer. He was very well-armed, full body armor and helmet. "Probably another mercenary, goon or stuff." He thought. He serves down the ramen in front of him, the customer quickly closed his omni when the chef approached him. "Gomennasai! Sorry for the wait, here is your order." He said and then refills his water. "Thanks." The man said to the owner and chef. With a smile, the chef goes to refill the Krogan's drinks.

The armed man uses his purple colored omni-tool, he launched a command and suddenly his helmet makes a tiny hissing sound, the dark thick glass part of the helmet which hides his face moves and split horizontally to reveal the lower half of his face, his slightly visible nose-tip and mouth. He dismissed his omni and began to pray, it was a short prayer. He took the chopsticks after he's done.

"That pyjak obviously isn't interested in Marson's money. Either it's personal or he's hired." The pissed off one suddenly slams his fist on the table, almost made the Chef drop the bottle in his hand. "Just shut up, brother. I don't want to talk about that scum."

That made the young one snorted, "Fine. Then let's talk about our plan for getting a new job."

A growl came out of the older one. "I hate everything."

"A refill for the gentlemen!" The owner cuts in and refills their glasses, then he quickly made his escape, not wanting in on the action. He knows that the Krogans worked for the guy that died on the news and things like that has become a trend in the Citadel, either business, political or just plain silly stuff. He's not usually a violent guy, but sometimes he wishes he can get his own hired muscle, for security that is. People would be surprised at how many times a fight has started in his stand, so much bowls and stools were smashed.

"How much do I owe you?" The armed man suddenly chirped in, interrupting the Chef's moment.

The helmet is back hiding his whole face and his bowl is empty. The Chef stared at the bowl for a second, amazed by how fast he ate before he finally replied, "Oh, right, that would be 50 credits." he took the bowl and glass to the washing sink. As he put aside the dirty dishes, he hears a beep from his cashier, it receives a transfer.

"I've transferred it. Thank you for the good meal." The armed man said while standing up to leave.

"Arigato! Please come again!" The Chef said, and the man left the stand.

The armed man walks to the rapid transit, calling a cab.  
>It was less crowded that night on the ward. The man watched as the taxi pulled up beside him, it opens its door automatically. He makes sure no one was following him before he enters the taxi. He's on high alert, especially after the previous event.<br>After he's sure that it's all clear, he enters the cab. He set the destination, the taxi responses to the destination and they're off. The man takes a seat in the back, but he also did a final check from the cab's windows for any unwanted followers. "Nothing." he confirmed.  
>Relief with that, the man uses his omni and checks for any incoming message from his client. There were no new ones, "I guess he doesn't need anything else. He'd better lay low for a while." He thinks as he dismissed his omni.<p>

The taxi pulled over in front of an old looking apartment. The apartment looks abandoned and dirty. The man gets out of the taxi after paying the fare. He takes another look out as the taxi departed, to his relief no one was on his trail. Then he walks towards the apartment, it may look abandoned, but there're residents living there. A couple with credit issues and Mercenaries.

This apartment may seem like shit, smells like one, but it's a good place to lay low or to hide. None of the authorities ever set foot in this part of the Citadel, they don't want their expensive shoes getting the poor stench.  
>The man arrived and stood in front of his room. He took out his key from his knee pocket and then unlocks the door, opening it. The old door creaked slightly as it opens. But before he set a foot inside, he suddenly felt a presence to his right. He casually checks the figure, not wanting to cause any suspicions or trouble (the mercs here are very sensitive).<br>"A keeper?" He raised an eyebrow at the keeper, now passing him. Sure, there are keepers here, but none enters the apartment. The keeper kept on strolling along until it makes a turn and disappears. The man shrugs off the false alarm and enters his room.

"Home sweet home." He thought as he enters, then closing and locking the door.  
>It was a plain small room, no bedroom, kitchen or any other room except for a small bathroom. The man didn't care much about it, he didn't even put any decorations or furniture, it's just a temporary hideout, no need for the unnecessary, he claimed. There's a futon in the right corner of the room, beside it is a small cabinet and that's it. He walked toward the cabinet, but suddenly stops, remembering a thing he should do when he got here.<br>He takes out a sword handle from his belt. "I haven't checked you after that stunt, I better run some scans." He said to the sword handle and also notes that the handle had a few blood stains.

He pressed a hidden button in the handle, and a dark metal extended from it, forming the blunt side of a katana, then on the opposite side, a deep red colored laser appears, forming the lethal side of a katana. The man uses his omni and scan the weapon.

"Complete." The text showed up in the omni, along with a full review of the scan. It informs him that his weapon is in optimal condition. "You just need a bath then." he said, turning off the laser and then walks to the bathroom. He took a rag from the bathroom cabinet and wet it a bit using the bathroom sink. Looking at the stains on the handle, he then starts cleaning it. "I should have gone for a cleaner kill, not stabbing him right in the skull. That was reckless." He thought, scolding himself for getting way too excited on the job.

Not more than a minute, a ringtone from his omni, signaling an incoming message. He uses several different tones for several groups of people in his contacts. There are tone for his client, his known associates, acquaintances, and unknown people. This time it's an unknown.  
>He had blocked any ads from his omni and his address is a ghost, didn't exist until he reveals it himself. He assumes that it was his client, but using a different ID. He opens and reads the message.<p>

"Greetings Zero, We have heard plenty about your line of work. It was hard to reach you and we are not absolutely sure if this is the right address…"

"My line of work is very discreet. Now how did you get my address?" He ponders, "Perhaps my client let it slip." He guessed before he continues reading the message.

"...But know that we are very interested in your work and services. We are willing to pay much and more for your expertise. Please contact us as soon as you are able. We prefer to talk to you via Holo call, we don't want this important offer to get to the wrong people. –C"

And there's a contact number at the bottom, "Hmm." He focuses on the sender's initial "C", he thought that this could be a real deal or it could be the cops. It sounded like a cop in the "promising much" part. But if it's not, then "The sender must be from a company or an organization, for referring itself as "we". And even when they're not entirely sure, they manage to get my actual address. My client would never dare betraying me for the authorities, not after the aid and loyalty I provided him... or the knowledge of how much I dislike traitors and my capability to dispose them as painfully as possible." He smirks at that, imagining a few painful torture methods.

He dried his now clean katana, then unsheathes and puts it back in his belt. He walks back to the other room and take a seat on the futon. "They might have a real job to offer, with a satisfying pay. Or this is another false promise, a trap." He thinks of the many outcomes this can end, plenty were ugly.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." He finally decides.

He opens his omni's interface, set his caller's cloak to a number 0, his trademark. This was to be a Holo-call and he doesn't trust anyone in the other end enough to let them see him. After a few adjustments, he activates his cloaking device with his omni. Besides cloaking him on the call, it can also block the person on the other end to track his location, a custom device he and his… comrades made back when he was still with them. He did some further customization to it, making it more effective.

All is ready and he dials the contact number. "Hope this won't turn ugly."

"Connecting…" "Connecting…" "Conn… Transmission accepted."

Then his omni displays a Holo of a man sitting on an armchair with his smoke and liquor. He noticed that his eyes are different, "Must have cost quite the fortune." he thought. The man looks nothing like C-sec or any of the council's pets. He's human and looks too much like a galactic mafia than a cop.

* * *

><p><strong>That's the end of the first chapter, I hope my OC doesn't bore you yet.<strong>  
><strong>Don't forget to RateReview :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**I forget to add this in the first chaps, but here they are, "I don't own Mass Effect."**

**Now that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy this chapter and maybe cringed a little less on any grammar errors and OOC-ness, Sorry!**

* * *

><p>"Hope this won't turn ugly."<p>

"Connecting…" "Connecting…" "Conn… Transmission accepted."

Then his omni displays a Holo of a man sitting in an armchair with his smoke and liquor, he's human and looks too much like a galactic mafia than a cop, he certainly had that perfect smugly look. The galactic mafia man looks like he had expected the cloaked call, his expression clearly showed it.

"Ah, I take it you are Zero? I understand why you added some security for a random call, not even offended. It was difficult to reach you, but your client is a good friend of mine." He smokes his cigarette.

"It was my client." He thought before finally letting his voice known. "Yes, I am Zero. This was necessary, some people wanted me dead or arrested. But I've guessed that Mr. Weinstern gave you the intel."

The man on the other end let out a little laugh, "Very resourceful of you. Don't worry, we're not here for that, we're here for business." He flicks his smoke, "I am the Illusive man, founder and head of Cerberus. Perhaps you've heard of us?"

"Yes, and none of them are alien friendly." he thought, remembering all of those terrorist acts Cerberus did. But instead he replied, "I've heard of the name. So what is it that you offer?"

"HM, skip the pleasantries, then? Alright." He said, putting out his smoke. "I'm sure you've heard about the missing humans. Plenty of the human colonies were founded empty."

"I've heard" Zero said while rubbing his chin, "This should be interesting, perhaps he offers a rescue mission?" He muses.

"Many lives went missing and no one is doing anything to stop it, not the Alliance, not the Council, nobody except Commander Zoe Shepard."

That was the name Zero hadn't expected to hear. The first human specter and savior of the Citadel, but even with her heroic deeds, some people still questions her sanity on the Reapers. The Council tries to hide her beliefs, shoves it far away from the public reach. But no matter how hard they tried to make the illusion of safety, it is still there.

"And she will need help for this mission. We have investigated the case further and found a very disturbing discovery." He paused for a second, tapping something on his console, "It was the Collectors. They were the one who abduct humans from the colonies, shipping them to an unknown destination and reason."

"C..Collectors?" Zero thought in shock, mortified when the Illusive man mentioned the name. Zero then hears that his omni receives an incoming transfer, he opens it and it's pictures, pictures of the Collectors kidnapping the humans, putting them in some kind of a pod.  
>A digital exclamation mark flashes on Zero's helmet, he personally confirms that they are Collectors. He first met one when he was still running with his comrades, another client of theirs. But that changed when they are the very reason that all of his comrad…families are dead or may god protects them, are missing. The Collectors are dangerous, vicious, resourceful and not one for mercy, Davin learned that the hard way. Zero almost let out a growl, remembering the horrid memory.<p>

"But we do know that the Collectors are working for the Reapers."

Zero forces himself to relax, now is not the time to show emotions, "That is… an intriguing discovery. But the Reapers? I respect the Commander, but are you entirely certain?"

"You might not have heard about it yet, but one of the biggest human colonies, Horizon, was attacked by the Collectors. Commander Shepard and her team arrived just in the nick of time, and she saved many but unfortunately not all. We have seen, record it, that the Collectors answered to the Reapers."

"Disturbing, yet what is my role in this?" Zero asked, can't contain his curiosity any longer.

"I was getting to that." He smirks and takes a sip of his whisky.

"This mission, the Commander will need a strong team. Without one, she will surely fail and our hope to rescue those missing people will be gone. And who's to say that the Collectors won't move their target to other species." Zero got to give him credit for acting like he truly cares for the aliens, or maybe he didn't want to offend Zero and trying to have his sympathies, considering that the Illusive man might not know that he's human, yet.  
>He saw the Illusive man uses his console again, "We are offering you a place in the team."<p>

And right on cue, something was transferred to Zero. He opens it and it was a copy of a check, a huge value of check. The Illusive man continues, "You don't need to worry about the payment for your loyalty toward the mission, I have send you the numbers of half the full payment."

"Half?" Zero wonders, a bit delighted when he did the math for the full payment.

"If you so chose to accept this offer, you will receive the real check, full payment in advance. But if you're not persuaded by the money," he slumped into his chair slightly with clasped hands, "Perhaps a personal favor can convince you? We, both Cerberus and the Commander herself, can assist you in any problem you had trouble with. I'm sure you have that one problem, people like you and I always have that one special problem."

"Am I that infamous to be pampered by some powerful organization?" He thought sarcastically. But quickly ponders back about his offer, "This is my only chance. They are after the Collectors." Zero feels immense hatred inside and a glimpse of his family's faces then lastly her face. He doesn't care about the money, he needs to be in this and destroy every Collectors in the galaxy. He shall finally fulfill his promise.

Zero took note of that personal favor the other man just clearly mentioned, he may use that to find Cherrise.

"I will not lie that this mission will be dangerous, suicide. But we need people with your talents to stop them." The Illusive man finally admitting the big tempting rewards are to hide the actual danger of the mission. Zero gave him little to read, but he is confident that Zero is tempted. A mercenary with such talent always loves a challenge.

"hm, what exactly do you ask for my services again?" he finally asks.

"We need you to aid the Commander in her mission, making sure that the mission succeeds whatever means necessary. I am sure with your expertise and experience that you will be a good asset for this team. And…" He paused for a second, making it all dramatic like. "I want you to be the Commander's personal bodyguard, a side job to protect her, whether she likes it or not."

A digital question mark appears on his helmet. "Will she be informed of it? I prefer my clients to know of my services."

He let a small laugh, "Don't worry, she'll know. Does that mean you've considered to accept the offer?"

Again silence. Zero re-thinks the whole situations, but half his mind have made a decision minutes ago.

"I accept." Illusive man smirks, slightly leans forward in his seat, "Excellent! We shall…"

"But. I will need that personal favor from you." Zero cuts in.

"Ah, certainly." He relaxes again in his seat. "What can we do for you, Zero?"

"I need to find this woman, her name is Cherrise, but I doubt she still uses the name. She has no last name, she's a human, an ex-mercenary and a biotic. She has blue dyed hair and eyes, tattoos on her right arm and shoulder." Zero uses his omni to send him Cherrise's picture.

Illusive man receives the file and views it, "A friend of yours?"

"Possibly." Zero said in a "none of your business" tone.

"Very well, it may take a while, but I assure you that we will find her."

"That would be appreciated. If you can help me get some information on her, I shall vow myself to assist the Commander in her mission."

The Illusive man nods in understanding, "So where is your current location? The Commander will personally welcome you to the team. She.."

Again Zero cuts in, "Citadel, Zakera Ward District level 26, there's a ramen stand. I will wait there after you and the Commander decided the date and time."

"Good. Your cash will be transferred shortly." A beep in Zero's omni. "Welcome to the team, Zero. The Galaxy is counting on you all. We'll be in touch." "End Transmission"

"That's a bit dramatic." He said to himself. He checks the incoming transfer, and saw the huge transfer. He will need to sort that out later. He sighs rubbing the back of his neck, it's almost 2 years and today he was finally given this chance. God have answered his prayers and he will not fail them all.

"Guess I need to start packing."

**To be continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>I plan to update this story daily, maybe twothree days per chaps? A week? Meh.**

**Let me know what you think of this chap :D Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah... This one is pretty long... It's okay if it tires you, you can always rest and continue it later? Right? Right?**

* * *

><p><em>Citadel, Zakera Ward's Mid-Ward District Level 27th, Outside C-Sec office, 7 pm.<em>

"The recruit will be waiting for you in the ramen stand at Zakera Ward level 26th, Commander." – Close log.

"I swear Shepard, I can never walk visible with those eyes following me."

Just outside the entrance to the C-Sec office in Zakera Ward, 3 people walked out from the office, two humans and a Turian. Anyone can tell that they're not your everyday Citadel residents, sure, some might be armed like them, but this particular group could surprise anyone who knew who and what they've been through.

The Turian with a blue, but slightly damaged armor, a big nasty scar on his face and carries a sniper and pistol on his back. The hooded woman with so many mysteries and mischief in her eyes, on her belt in which she kept plenty of her toys and her pistol. And finally the one and only Commander Shepard, she leads the small group, walking ever so strong and graceful. Her long black hair was tied into a low bun with her sideway bangs just above her eyebrows. She wore her black and red armor and on her back there're her pistol and assault rifle.

She looks at the hooded master thief, Kasumi Goto, "It looks harmless enough. Besides, he's not that bad looking, and…"

That made the thief narrowed her eyes. "Please don't tell me what I think you're about to suggest, Shepard."

Shepard let out a small laugh, "It's just a thought."

They have another mission in the Citadel, but it isn't a life threatening one, just another recruiting routine. Shepard led the group to the meeting place and it's on the Ramen stand. She passed the place a few times on her visits here and there was a short dinner with Grunt, she smiles at the memory. Grunt almost destroyed all of the Chef's chopsticks for not able to get any ramen with them.

"So this new recruit- what do we know about them?" The Turian, Garrus Vakarian asked.

"His dossier is similar with Zaeed's, a mercenary. I know it's great and all, but he'll also be my personal bodyguard." She sighs. "Fantastic." She added with a whiny tone. Garrus certainly knows why she's not thrilled with the idea, "Seriously? This will be private Canon all over again." Garrus teased.

"Shut up, Vakarian. That was the worst." She told him without any hostility in it. Garrus chuckled at that.

"You know you can always say no, Shepard." Kasumi reasoned. Shepard let out a small "Ugh." and then said, "I have. I told the Illusive man that I don't, I do not need a bodyguard, but then he's like "here's a thousand of logical and reasonable excuses why you should have a bodyguard". He talks about the guy like he got a little crush on him or something." She snorts at the thought.

"That's an idea. The Illusive man got a manly kitty crush on Shepard's personal bodyguard. That would make a great novel." Kasumi said while noting the idea in her head. "I can picture it now!"

"Oh god, Kasumi. Now I'm picturing it too." The both of them laugh at the future best-selling novel.

"Right. I'll pretend this conversation never happens." Garrus smiles awkwardly.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0==0=**

They're almost at the Ramen stand, they practically can smell the spices and the seaweeds.

"Maybe we can order a takeaway?" Kasumi said when she smells the spices in the air. Garrus smirks and said, "We're on a mission." "Aw…" Kasumi playfully whines, "We can always multitask, y'know?" She tries again to change their mind. Shepard shakes her head, "Focus on the mission." she told Kasumi, earning a small pout from the thief, "Fine." but she didn't stop there," So what does he look like?"  
>Shepard thinks for a moment, but then remembers that they didn't give her any picture of him, "Honestly, I don't have a clue."<p>

"What?" Garrus asked. Shepard looks at the Turian beside her, "Well, the dossier didn't provide any pictures, but it did give out his name, Zero. And I assume it's a he." then she smirks, "This will be Archangel all over again!" she looks at the Garrus with the smirk on.  
>Garrus feels a bit nervous, but challenged at the same time, "Heh. Careful what you wish for Shepard, I could be Zero for all we know." He said, a bit flirty than he'd planned for. "By the Spirits, Garrus." He mentally face palmed himself.<br>Garrus quickly continues the topic, hoping the Commander didn't pick up on his lame attempt, "Or maybe he'll make us talk to a ramen instead of an ad."  
>"Can't beat the ads, Garrus. Can't beat the ads." Kasumi said, very proud of her grand entrance. Shepard shakes her head in amusement, Kasumi got her there, talking to an ad like nobody's business. People were starting to feel uncomfortable with it, some might call C-sec on her.<p>

"He can be anything for all we know. A Salarian, Krogan… a Volus." When Garrus said that last one, it made Kasumi cringe a little, " N..No way!"

They're really near the Ramen stand now, just this last turn to the right, and… Shepard stops at her heels.  
>Out of the blue, a Krogan rushes pass her, he could bump into her if she didn't stop. "How rude." She thought. Another Krogan at his back, looking a bit worried for the rude Krogan. She felt a hand on her shoulder, "You okay?" Garrus asks, concerns if she got hurt, he eyed the Krogan dangerously.<p>

"Yeah, I'm okay. Some people can be quite a jerk." She's a bit pissed by it, but she's a patient person, so she'll let it slide this time. After she told Garrus that, she feels his hand left her shoulder, left it empty and lonely again. Shepard blushed a bit with that random thought, now was not the time to think like that. She was about to scold herself, but suddenly they hear someone's shouting, it was from the stand. "There you are scum! I knew you'd be here!"

They look at the commotion, it was the same Krogan that almost stampeded her a second ago. The other Krogan looks like he tries to calm him, "Brother, what are you doing?"

"I am sure… I got a feeling about this guy and my feelings never wrong. Hey you!"

They look at the "guy" the Krogan is referring to. The guy turns on his stool, wondering what's with all the shouting. He was fully armored and his head was hidden with a helmet. As he notices the two Krogan, suddenly a digital question mark appears on his mask, it's kinda amusing. The Krogan growls, "Don't act dumb. You will pay for what you've done!"

The Krogan was ready to charge and the guy was ready to oblige him, but the other Krogan holds back the angry Krogan by the shoulders. "Father didn't train me enough for this kind of shit." He thought for a second before saying, "Brother, you are not thinking straight! You're drunk!" He tries reasoning. "Besides, how can this human, do that kind of damage?" He said with an inpatient growl.

"Grrr…" He growls, but slowly relaxes, "Fine. Whatever. Off of me!" The young Krogan releases him. The pissed Krogan turns and marches to leave the scene. The other Krogan sighs in relief and a bit frustrated by his Brother's antics, he then catches up to him.

"Namusanbou! For a minute there I was sure my stand gonna be ruined." The owner said still a bit shaken but relief at the same time. The guy looks at him and shrugs. Then he notices Shepard and her company, an exclamation mark appear on his helmet. He stands up, pick up his backpack, which is leaning against the stool, and sling it on his right shoulder.  
>"Wow, he's tall." Kasumi thought while the guy was walking towards them, the mark on his helmet disappears. Shepard looks at him while he's walking to them, and can only guess, "Zero?" she asks with a raised eyebrow. The guy stops, his height kinda intimidates them. They can guess that he's about 6' or so, shorter than Garrus but tall enough to make him feel intimidated.<p>

A nod from Zero, "Yes, I am Zero. And you are Commander Shepard. It's an honor, to serve under you." A grinning emoticon ":D" appears. The Commander didn't expect this kind of smoothness from the guy, but she finally replies, a bit nervous still. "Oh, Yeah, uh, good to have you, Zero." She tries to give a friendly smile but fails.

"Oh, I would love you to serve under me, anytime." Kasumi thought, while letting out, "Hmm."

"Another odd recruit..." Garrus thought, still eyeing him cautiously. He had doubts that he'll be a good bodyguard for Shepard, but he also remembers that Cerberus had picked this guy and Cerberus never picks anyone not worth their goal, time and resources.

"Have you been informed of the mission?" Shepard asks and subtly studies the new recruit. She saw a very tall and lanky man, definitely a human. His full light black armor looks really intimidating, even more with his tall frame. Shepard then looks for his weapon, seeing he carries none and there's also nothing in his belt, "Must be in the bag." Shepard guessed in her mind. She continues to his face, well… helmet. It was a dark glass helmet, "Maybe it have been enhanced with some digital tech stuff for displaying the symbols." She tried to figure it out, but she wasn't an expert with techs, -Leave it to the professionals- She holds on to the motto.

"I have." Zero said and made no hint to continue. Shepard took the hint "Okayyy..." She thought, and then fill in the silence, "Alright then. Welcome aboard! We will need all your help in this mission, Zero." She then smiles. The grin emoticon ":D" appears again.

"What a cool helmet. Hi, I'm Kasumi Goto, a pleasure to finally meet you, Zero." Kasumi smiles ever so sweetly to the mercenary. Shepard tries to hold back the need to roll her eyes. "Garrus Vakarian, welcome to the team." He welcomes him politely, he still needs to be professional even though he still has his suspicions. The new recruit nods with the emoticon still shows. "Looking forward to work with all of you."

Shepard nods back, "Okay then, back to the ship." She turns around, ready to go back to the Normandy. She leads the way and the others instantly follows, even the newbie. Garrus walks beside Shepard like he always did. Zero walks behind her, already acting all bodyguard like. Kasumi walks closely behind him, studying Zero's behind. "Damn that ass!" She thought, eyes never leaving Zero's bottom.

Shepard slightly look at Zero behind her, "So what's with the Krogan? He looked pissed."  
>Zero looks at the commander, "He and the other one worked for a human, Marson, the usual protection job." He said to the Commander, he can tell she was really curious of the story and wishes him to continue, "Marson with his other guards were founded dead. The Krogans lost their job and thought I was the killer."<p>

"Are you?" The stoic Turian asks. Zero was aware of his hard glares, but understands that's because he values the Commander's well-being, so he didn't think much of it. Zero looks at Garrus and said, "Maybe." A wink emoticon appears briefly, then vanishes. Garrus expected that answer, but he didn't expect more emoticons. He spontaneously let out a small laugh and said "Not bad." After saying that, he can't help but give the new guy a break.

"You should've seen the chef's face! I'm surprised he didn't pass out." Kasumi joins in, finally focusing her eyes to the others rather than Zero's back. "It was hilarious." She added. Shepard still remembers that face, even more terrified than the Grunt thing, "I bet he's going to throw those bowls of ramen if needs to protect his stand. How will the press explain that in the news? Hah!" Shepard joked.

"That would be… bad. -Having ramen bits on my armor." Zero grimaced, mortified by the thought. "That's a scary situation." Garrus said, picturing those noodles on his ramen, soup soaking his armor and shirt and oh how it will smell. "Ughh…" He shudders. "I agree." Zero assumed he's thinking about the ramen.

"Don't be a baby, a quick shower will do the trick." Shepard said. "Easier said than done." Garrus whined.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

"Here we are."

They are in the Normandy's docking bay. Zero is amazed by the beauty of the Normandy SR-2, this is the first time he has seen the Normandy in person and up close. As he follows the Commander, he subtly admires the ship.

Shepard leads them inside the ship and when they walk out from the airlock, to their left, the pilot tries to sneak a peek on the new recruit. Joker definitely thought he have a cool armor.

"I'll be at my usual place, Shepard. Again, good to have you join us, Zero." Garrus said his mandibles forming what it looks like a Turian smile for them. "And I'll be in my room, come and visit me sometime Zero." Kasumi smiles seductively at him. A smiley appears on the man's helmet. They can't help but smile back at the merc.

Garrus and Kasumi walk on ahead to the elevator, leaving Shepard and Zero with his smiley gone.  
>"Our newest comrade in arms! Hey, I'm Joker." He took a deep breath, looking a bit theatrics, "Welcome to the Normandy… A beauty isn't she?" The pilot said from his seat. Zero looks at him, wondering if he's going to stand or not, "I'm Zero and she is a beauty." Joker grins and ready to ask him a thousand of questions, but Shepard beats him to it. "Later Joker, we gotta go. I bet Miranda and Jacob are already there waiting for us." She said to the pilot.<p>

Joker raised his hand sarcastically, "Alright, alright. I'll lay off, no need getting all dramatic on me, Commander. Great to meet you, bro." He said.  
>"Likewise Joker." Zero said. Joker grins, it sounded sincere, Joker thought. He got a feeling that the newbie will be a cool dude.<p>

After Joker turned back to his console, "Well, let's go." Shepard said, gaining his attention. She walks ahead and Zero follows her. As they walk through the bridge and into the map room, the crews started to whisper. They take a good look at the new recruit, little giggles and amazed gasps were heard. They enter the armory room and from there they are finally in front of the com-room, "Sorry about the crews," Shepard said and cracks a smile, "They do that."

"It's fine, Commander. I don't mind." Zero said. The Commander nods and turns to the door, tapping the open command. The door opens, revealing a room with a table in the center and two humans inside. A woman who was reading a datapad, but stops and put the pad on the table when the door opens. The other human is a man, standing attentively beside the woman.

"Commander." Miranda greets.

"Commander." Jacob greets with a respectful tone, "And you must be the newest recruit, Zero. Welcome aboard."  
>He continued when he saw Zero. "I'm Jacob Taylor, good to meet you."<p>

"Miranda Lawson." The other woman said.

The Commander walks and stands beside Jacob. Another interrogation time, she always says whenever a new recruit is in this position. Zero stands dutifully in front of them, he knows that they are inspecting him, "I am Zero, an honor to be here. I aim for the success of our mission." His helmet tilts slightly to the Commander, "And the safety of our Commander." He added.

Shepard had forgotten that he'll be her new bodyguard. Miranda saw the Commander's little sigh, Shepard was really against by the idea of having a bodyguard when the Illusive man first informed her. Miranda takes her pad on the table and opens his file, "It was hard for us to contact you, Zero. Here it said that you were an infamous and loyal mercenary. Not to mention a very reliable bodyguard." She was impressed by the man's reputations and with his client's fondness of him. "Your client wasn't very willing to share you."

Zero finds that amusing, but flattering. He wonders just how far did they go to make his client gave him out. "I never fail my client. I value his safety and privacy above all else, and Mr. Weinstern appreciates it." Zero explains with a proud tone. Jacob smirks, "Bet he's pretty sore with you off duty."

"Very." Zero confirms, he had accepted nothing but harmless whines from Mr. Weinstern when he knew that Zero will be unavailable for quite a while. Miranda let out a small smirk, she has been receiving some hateful messages from Weinstern and she bets the Illusive Man received the same.

"And another thing, since you'll be the Commander's personal bodyguard." Miranda said, she put both of her hands on the table, leaning slightly, giving a good display for her curve, "Your room has been prepared and to make your job more efficient, it is next to the Commander's."

On the terminal by the table, a hologram appears, it speaks with a robotic female voice, "The room is ready with all your daily needs, Zero. I have suggested the workers to install it with much privacy. "

Zero tries to figure the Holo out, it was far too intelligent for a VI, giving suggestions on its own had crossed a VI protocol. Zero puts his money on an AI. "Thank you EDI." Jacob says to the AI. Shepard then let out a "Huh…" and then crossed her arms loosely under her chest, "So that's why private Hance and the others had been hanging outside my room lately. But I still think it's unnecessary for a bodyguard, y'know. But you're here and I've complained enough, so mehh." She said with uninterested look.

"It won't be so bad, Commander. His client has never sent in any complaints about his work." Jacob said, trying to cheer her up. The Commander appreciates it, but still she shrugs, "Yeah, yeah, I think we have known each other enough, I'll show Zero his room." She said while walking to the door, she doesn't want to continue this topic. The door opens and she steps out. Zero gives the other a farewell nod and follows her out without question.

As the door closes behind them, "This will be interesting." Miranda laughs. "Yeah." Jacob joins in.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

Outside the room, "I bet they're laughing in there." She thinks.

She looks at her new bodyguard, he stands behind her waiting patiently for whatever she had in mind, "I'll show you around the place while we're on the way. We don't want you getting lost now, do we?" "I appreciate that, Commander." Zero told her.

His voice gives her little to figure him out, until now she doesn't know if he's good with all these, or just plain bored. However, she's a positive gal. She's sure that he'll let her know if he's not okay with any of it. She had a feeling that Zero is an honest guy.

"No problem." She said and points at the door to their left, "That our tech-lab, the prof-doc Mordin Solus works there."

Zero recognized the name all too well, but he doubts it was the same Dr. Solus, the Salarian from Omega's clinic. He would like to ask the Commander, but didn't. He's not one for asking irrelevant questions to his clients.

Zero follows her as Shepard walks to the armory, told him about the room, and then continues to the Map room. She explains all the obvious things about the room and the crews who's in charge of the place. She's a bit silly, but in a friendly and good-hearted way.

As they walk to the elevator. "This is the map room and here's the elevator." She explains while calling for the elevator. She thought that she should get a trophy for being the best Normandy's tour guide.  
>When they wait for the elevator, Shepard noticed Kelly, the ship's yeoman. She looks eager to be introduced. "Can't hurt." She thought and then, "Zero, this is Miss Kelly Chambers, the ship's yeoman."<p>

Zero looks to his side and notices the yeoman, she can see the yeoman's eyes sparkle in excitement, "Hi, nice to meet you, Zero." She offers a handshake which Zero politely took. "Nice to meet you too." he said, letting go of the handshake.

She smiles brightly, but behind Shepard she can see the elevator has arrived,  
>"I can see that you are busy at the moment, but I hope we can talk later."<p>

Zero gives her a nod and Shepard is thankful for her understanding attitude,

"Yeah, we better get going." Kelly gives her a warm smile, and "Of course, Commander." Kelly said then returns to her work.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

In the elevator, Shepard picks the floor. And while waiting for their floor, she explains about the other levels to the recruit. Zero listens to her quietly and never asks any questions. Shepard thinks that he's either a fast learner or being really polite, or just plain shy.

A ding sound and the elevator open to their floor.  
>They step out of the elevator, Shepard instantly see the new door to her right.<p>

"That's your room, I guess. It's kinda like magic, y'know. It wasn't there a few days ago, but suddenly, voila!" she jokes. But sadly she's laughing alone this time. Zero then breaks the awkwardness which he didn't even realize of, "How curious indeed-"he said and pauses a bit before continues, "I appreciate the tour, Commander."

"Shepard, if you don't mind- and you're welcome." She said.

She thinks hard about how to ask the next question, the one that she's been meaning to ask him, about him being her bodyguard and all. "So… Uh… How does your "bodyguarding" thing work?" she finally asked, breaking the short silence.

Zero can sense a bit of bitterness in the word "bodyguarding", he assumes her previous guard was a total disappointment. Since the Comm room, he sees how opposed she is by having a bodyguard. "I shall keep watch and protect you with my very life, Co… Shepard." He had remembered that she prefers to be called by her last name. Then he continues, "I will not intrude you in any private manner, not unless it harms you in any way or if I deem it necessary. If in the field I am nowhere to seen, know that I am nearby and you may call me at any time, I will swiftly go to your side."

"And if I'm in the ship?" She asks.

"I will be watching, but I won't make you uncomfortable by constantly following you everywhere in the ship." When he explains those, his voice never falters and he stands so dutifully. It's like he has explained this hundreds of times, Shepard can't help but be impressed. "That's a great deal, so unlike my last bodyguard." She said, the last with a relief sigh. "So when I'm in the field, you'll be tagging along?"

"Yes."

"What if I told you to stay?" She asks out of curiosity, she wants to know how he will answer that.

"Then I will disobey you."

"That was brutally honest." She said, kinda surprised by the answer. He had said that ever so relaxed, like there's nothing wrong with that. Right or wrong, Anderson and Hackett always nag her whenever she disobeys their orders, it was horrible. "So there's nothing I can do to change your mind? Not even if I told you I'll be extremely careful?" She tries, she can't help but be her stubborn and joking self.  
>She saw the merc shakes his head, hinting a big no, "I will join you every time you have missions outside the ship. But I will simply "look out" for you whenever you're in the ship, shore leave, or some R&amp;R."<p>

"That's kinda strict and looks like you're the one calling the shots and all. Are you sure no-one ever complains about this method of yours?" She was never one to get comfy by being constantly protected and watched, she's not that helpless.  
>Suddenly her trains of thoughts were stopped by a small laugh coming out of the mercenary. She was caught off-guard by the unsuspected laughter. She looks at him with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed on her chest.<p>

That unexpected moment quickly ended and replaced by his previous serious and cold voice,  
>"My client did not seek my services, he didn't even know of its existence. He was at the mercy of others, stomped by those who is more powerful and death was ready to claim him." The way he said it was pretty intimidating, Shepard admits, but he let him continues, interested in the small information about him.<p>

"I appeared at his battered body, offered him my services from the shadows. I delayed death's arrival. I changed his place in the world, got him to places, powerful places." He tilts his head, before finally made his point, "So no, he never complained."

Shepard still crossed her arms, but now loosely, she finds his story intriguing. At first she thought he'll get upset by her complaints and with her questioning his work, but turns out it didn't affect him, not one bit. There's just no emotion in his voice, still making it hard for Shepard to read him.

"But you are the first." He added after the pause, with a hint of wonder. "First?" She asks.

"You are the first job that was offered to me since..." He paused for a second, thinking of the right word, "Since I am back in this line of work. Before Mr. Weinstern, I always took random and discreet jobs, always temporary."

"So what makes you go back to be a merc?" Shepard asks.

"A promise." Zero answers, then continues, trying to change the subject, "You are not helpless, not on a verge of death, not desperate. I admit that I am unsure if my method is appropriate for you."

She finds his honesty and concerns to be touching, aside his cold attitude. She notices that he didn't want to talk about the promise thing. She knows that he didn't want to talk about whatever that promise is, so she jokes "So I'm the first to complain?"

Now, it is Zero's turn to cross his arms loosely, his pack still hangs on his right shoulder.  
>He looks at her, amused. "Yes. Yes, you are."<p>

Before she can reply anything smart, Zero continues, "But that does not mean I will change my current method, I am only unsure for some of it. But I promise that you will be safe on my watch, Commander."

"Back to formality." Shepard thought. She let out a sigh,  
>"Alright then. Do whatever it is you do for my safety, just don't go overboard. Please." She said then turned to her quarter. "I'm gonna go ahead and take a quick nap. All this talk about me being watch is giving me a slight headache."<p>

Before she enters her room, she hears him say, "Of course, Commander. Rest well."

* * *

><p><strong>Still here I see... Awesome. :D<strong>

**I'll keep updating this, as long as you're still interested xD**

**Leave a Review, No? Oh, Okay... I still love you for reading it!**

**Thanks for Reading and have a jolly day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chap and the next will be about the OC's past. **

**Enjoy,**

* * *

><p>"Rest well."<p>

The new recruit said to the Commander, she went in her room and left the recruit.

Zero waited for the Commander's door to close, before he goes to his room.  
>He finds that the Commander is… interesting, reminded him of Cherrise with all those stubbornness and attitude. He spontaneously smiles at the thought.<p>

Zero opens the door to his new room, and finds that it is to his liking. It's a medium sized room, enough to get comfy.  
>Zero thought that it was more than enough, he's been in a far worse place, worse than that last apartment.<p>

He likes the window the most, it's rather wide and he can see the docking bay from here.  
>There's a comfy single bed, some shelves here and there, a locker near the bathroom door, and a couch with a coffee table beside the window, a nice touch. The bathroom is the cleanest one he ever stepped in for the last 2 years. Safe to say that this beats all of the places he had stayed before.<p>

He walks to the table and put his backpack there. He takes a minute to get used to the new surroundings, the Normandy, the very ship that saves the Citadel from the Geths and if Shepard words are true, a Reaper. He was still in Omega when that happened, still in hiding.

He opens his pack and let out all of the stuff inside.  
>This was all of his stuff from the apartment, the important ones. His sniper, some ammos, 2 set of casual clothing, 4 pairs of clean boxers, his last can of beer and his small cleaning kit for his armors and weapons.<p>

He doesn't own plenty of stuff, even though money is never a problem. He got more than enough after his employment with Mr. Weinstern and now Cerberus. He kept some of it in his personal account and the rest in two different banks at Citadel. He sort them carefully, with an ID that never raised any unwanted attention. It blends nicely with other accounts.

In the past, he didn't need to sort out his own money in some bank. He was with one of the most dangerous and infamous group of mercenaries in the galaxy, they have their own vault in the HQ.

It was marvelous. The challenges, thrill, fun and warmth of families and friends.

Unfortunately, that group was broken, forcefully. All of the members are either dead or missing.

"God protects them." Zero said, hoping there are other survivors.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=**

It happened on a day off.

All of them were in their HQ, a big starship, bigger than the Normandy.  
>She had so many memorable scars in those hard shells, their moving home, their big nest. If they'd like to travel to a planet or station, they'd take their custom fighter ships in the cargo bay. They modified the original fighters, made them a bit larger with maximum capacity per ship was 4 people instead of 1. It's like a shuttle, but with speed and lethal firepower.<p>

Their HQ, Luna her name, was equipped with cutting edge tech, in both of her offense and defense, plus a cloaking device.  
>Zero was one of the engineers and tech experts that created and installed it to the Luna. No outsiders ever touch their Luna, they never let any people outside their group to get a chance to work on her because she was their home, their masterpiece.<p>

They put their own sweat, blood and tears to her.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

Their group, The Luna, consists of 40 people, a big happy family.  
>But originally, the group was created and founded by 5 humans. Aeron, Zero, Cherrise, Elli and Creed.<br>The original members, sometimes the seniors some would say.

They made their place in the harsh galaxy, back when the first contact was still fresh.  
>But before that, they were just 5 children, all of them were orphaned urchins, living in the streets of Omega.<p>

Zero was born in 2150, his parents lived in a small space colony. They were chosen scientists to be given a chance to live in one of Earth's first colonies. One of the first human colonies after humanity discovers the Galaxy's secrets.  
>As amazing as it sounds, unfortunately, it's also one of the first colonies that had been raided by slavers.<p>

He was 6 years old when the slavers arrived. They destroyed... murdered many, and enslaved all of the young ones and women. Humans were high priced in the slaver's market back then.

Zero never knew what became of his parents, but when the slavers took him to their ship with the other hostages, he couldn't find his parents among all the others. He asked the slavers, but that got him nothing.. so, he assumed the worst. They didn't make it.  
>He cried quietly in the dark corner of his cage, ignoring anything that was happening around him. But then he realized that the slavers who captured him hadn't sell him, almost every hostages there were already shipped to the market, but not him.<br>It was a terrible fate for Zero that they had something else in mind for him.

They made him their own personal slave, forced him to be an efficient, obedient and disciplined slave, their pet.  
>Their lessons are dreadful and long, but from there, Zero learned to survive.<p>

In the first two years, he was exhausted by all of the beatings, had plenty of scars on his body to remind him of it every day. But after a while, he came up with a trick. Whenever they hurt him, he switched off. He made his mind wanders astray, it helped him ignored all the pain, it made him feel a little freedom. Freedom in which he truly desires, he constantly prayed... dreamed for it every time he shut his eyes.

At the age of 10, the Slavers decided to make their pet into something more... Something like a little weapon. They saw that he was under their control, full of obedience. So they thought why don't they give some fangs to their little broken pet, to show off to their competitors. And thus, they gave him a new name, Zero. Even gave him a mark, a tattoo of a number zero in the right side of his forehead. Even that tattoo wasn't a pleasant thing to have, It was a painful process to get that tattoo, gave him a dangerously high fever for a week. Of course he didn't show the slavers that he had that fever, they would beat him for being weak.

When Zero wasn't training to be their assassin or taking daily beatings, he's with the Slaver's engineers, doing whatever chores they gave him and secretly did some studying in the process. It may be genetic for him to be interested in the subject, but other than that, it's also the only thing he had as hobby despite the circumstances.

Zero always occupied himself with something, intentionally or not. He preferred to be busy doing whatever they need, and that would please them, which made the beatings shorter, none if he's really lucky. And he was starting to get lucky, because the beatings weren't as severe as the time before he's Zero. The reason for that is because the slavers were starting to be careful with their trophy, and how the slavers loved their trophy, even dressed him with full dark green and brown armor, hidden his face with a helmet, it was the one he had now, but with different color and it's still an ordinary helmet.

He knows that he should get a new helmet, get a new name, get a new start, he should move on.. But this helmet and all of his life as Zero, are a reminder of all of his struggles, survival, freedom and his family. It's a part of him now. To change it now, it is not possible, not easy.

After 4 more years of slavery, after all the many times he disconnected with reality, killing any competitors his masters had trapped them with him. Yes, they did use him to kill. But no, they never let him leave their ship, his masters would trap their competitors with him inside his cage. His master would give them some knives for them to defend themselves, but that had never helped any of them. A few times his master used him as an interrogation tactics, an animal that can shred them to pieces if they didn't give his masters what they wanted to hear. He was a monster, a blood-lust monster.  
>And what's worst, that he gave up, accepting that way of life, tearing others apart with a knife and a sword, having blood decorating his armor, his soul. He gave up all hope, switched off completely... Until...<p>

That day, that day when the Slavers docked in Omega to re-supply, something happened…  
>The usual re-supplying routine had not gone as smoothly as they planned. Out of nowhere they were overwhelmed by thugs, the slavers struggled to hold off the ambushed in which they did not expect or prepare for it. The ship was fired from every side, and they were docked.<p>

The fire destroyed the ship, making an opportunity as it shattered Zero's cage. Zero saw the opportunity and slipped out of the mess. He ran away into the streets of Omega. Each step he took, he'd whispered "Please don't wake up." He hoped that the thugs killed all of his old masters. He hoped that this freedom was not one of his dreams. But It wasn't, it was real, and he is finally free. The stench of Omega slums didn't bother him as he took a deep breath and smiled.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

2 days later, he met Aeron. Both of them met in an unlikely situation, stealing from a Batarian shop owner. Zero was stealing some food he was selling, when suddenly the Batarian caught him. Zero was so hungry that he made a mistake because of it. His solitary life had made him forget about being a normal person, he didn't know how to socialize with others, and the thought of giving his surviving masters a hint of his whereabouts, made him stayed in the shadows. Unfortunately, staying in the shadows for two days without food or water, made him desperate and sloppy.

Out of the blue, Aeron threw a rock or iron pellets to the alien. Zero escaped his hold and ran with Aeron. The browned haired boy grinned at him as they ran, a grin that started their friendship and journey together.

Aeron was a colonist, both of his parents were too, but they were not scientists like Zero's.  
>Due to falling for a scam, they were trapped in Omega. His parents tried to reach Earth, but with the first contact war, they can't get a good signal. Being broke didn't help either.<br>Sadly, their misfortune didn't stop there, in the age of 9, Aeron saw his parents brutally murdered by Vorchas.  
>They were in one alley, scavenging for anything to survive, when suddenly they were surrounded by Vorchas. His parents gave him a chance to escape, and he did. He's alive with the cost of his beloved parent's life. Aeron was very young, but he was taught to be an independent person by his parents, especially after the scam. The tragedy should have broken any kids of his age, but not Aeron. True, he was greatly devastated by it, but it did not break him, instead it makes him stronger.<p>

For 4 years, he alone had gone the life in Omega's dark streets, and survived it all. Most of the time he would do some little jobs for the thugs or mercs, went to their good side. It got him out of trouble, and the mercs liked having a human child servant around.

Aeron met few humans in Omega, stranded humans, but none about his age. And then he met Zero.  
>The two became friends instantly. There were cautious looks between them, but that quickly changed after the many times of surviving together and relying on each other. Zero was new with all of these things, having a friend, someone that looks out for you. He hadn't had the luxury being a slave and all.<br>Aeron knew he was a slave, Zero told him when they started to get to know each other. Aeron didn't treat him differently when he knew of his past, instead he helped him learn everything he had missed. A bond was created, they saw themselves not as friends anymore, but as brothers.

Zero may have plenty abnormal antics, like how he lost touch with his emotions, his habit to hide his face, didn't know how to socialize with others and how he often became quiet, really quiet. He can practically be a labor robot sometimes, doing any one command without questions. But despite all of his unusual behaviors, Aeron never gave up on him, he patiently helped Zero with all of his antics.

Zero cherished their friendship very much, his brother.

A year and a half later, they met the siblings, Cherrise and Elli.  
>Cherrise was 13 years old, she was the tough guy-girl, who was exposed to an eezo few months back, accidently. She had biotic instead of a tumor. Elli was 11 years old, a hyper one, but backed up with a genius brain.<br>The sisters were inseparable. Both of them aided and took care of each other. However, they never talk about their past or how they got to Omega, but they did mention something about a hacked shuttle, a crash and a fucking ass, Cherrise's word. They liked the boy's company and decided that the boys could help them in staying alive on Omega.

Cherrise got along well with Aeron and the quiet Zero. She had few troubles figuring out Zero, but when he got lost in some tech-project, he reminded her of Elli, the nerds she thought. Cherrise was very loving, despite the all tough and untouchable attitude. She was out-going and might have a weak spot for Aeron and his idealist attitudes.

Elli was never a shy girl, she was social and loud. She loved being around people and around tools. She took care of her sister's biotic needs, she literally searched everything about biotic when Cherrise first exposed by it, even managed to get her a standard bio-amps, implanted it to her big sis herself. It was a clean surgery. Elli worried if her big sis didn't get any treatment, she'd get hurt, or probably became a drooling mess.

Shortly after 4 months, they were joined by Creed, the last to complete their odd group.  
>Creed was almost an adult when they first met him, a 17 years old and that made him the eldest.<br>He was good with his friends, but ruthless to his enemies, Aeron often had to get him out of trouble with other urchins or mercenaries. He simply enjoyed violence, a bit psychotic sometime.

It was Aeron who first met him. Aeron was doing his usual messenger boy job for the Bloodpack.  
>He was at one of their small posts when he saw Creed having a fist fight with one of the Vorcha-member of the group. The other members saw it as a small entertainment, had a bet going on too.<p>

Creed was like a beast, he was wounded himself but he tore that Vocha apart, literraly. Aeron admitted that he approved a little.  
>After his small victory, Aeron finished delivering the package and about to leave when one of the Krogan pointed Aeron to get Creed out with him. Aeron didn't dare to question him and so Aeron helped Creed exited the place. Aeron led him into a nearby alley and treated his wounds.<br>Creed appreciated the gesture and they started to get to know one another. He told Aeron what happened, he was angry and it happened. Aeron was amazed by his temper and stupidity. He also mentioned that he didn't remember anything other than waking up in a garbage ship that was docked in Omega. He was inside the ship's cargo, in the pile of trash. He's been in Omega ever since.

Creed only had a dog tag around his neck to identify himself and gave him a hint of who he was before,  
>Creed-Experiment #13. An ex-lab rat… That explained the abnormal healing factor and rapid behaviors, Aeron thought. Creed asked if he could join Aeron, he felt like he could trust Aeron, a guy that can watch his back.<br>Aeron, being the ever so welcoming guy, thought it was a great idea. So he gladly welcomed him and introduced Creed to the rest.

Cherrise got along very well with Creed, her partner in crime. Creed secretly though that Cherrise is very pretty. But he knew she likes Aeron and by the look of things, so does he. Creed wanted them to be together, they're a good match, so he did some little things to get them closer.

Elli and Zero had been his source of entertainment. He loves being their lab rat, testing their newest weapon designs or being a target of their newest weapons. Creed is like a big awesome and insane brother for Elli and he loves her spunky self, plus she makes him wonderful weapons.  
>Creed may think that Zero is kinda spooky because he can be really quiet, but he had shown Creed that he can be a good friend, plus he makes weapons too.<p>

Finally their group is complete. They worked together, stay together and Aeron always led the group. They had done many adventures together, many jobs and many shenanigans. Even though not all turned out well for them, they kept on going as long as they're able and together.  
>And that particular element had made them stronger, stronger to have a pleasant enough life, and even much stronger with Aeron leading them all. He eventually led them all to glory.<p>

Years later, all of them had grown up to be one of a renowned group in the streets and underworld of Omega. Even the top merc groups were interested in recruiting them, but Aeron preferred to make their own group of mercenary. The others liked the idea of having their own merc group, and it was Cherrise who picked the name, Luna. The Earth's moon. They never saw their home planet's moon, but thankfully there's the extranet.

Elli suggested that a merc gotta have a ship, and she happened to know where to get one.  
>She led them to a starship junkyardgraveyard. And so there it was, the early version of Luna, scraps.  
>She might be scraps at first, but then they started to fix and built Luna together, after some work done on her, they made her into one beautiful ship, not a starship yet, but an average spaceship. Impressive enough, given the limited resources and just the 5 of them.<br>Creating Luna was one of the memories Zero cherished.

From there, they did plenty missions as mercenaries, from planet to another.  
>Of course at first they can't travel through the mass relay, because the Luna still wasn't suitable for that kind of space travel. But that didn't last for long, not after they did many jobs and got her upgrades. All the while some came to join their merry group, both humans and aliens.<p>

For 5 years, they had become infamous.  
>One of the feared and respected mercs, the top dogs Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse respected them both as adversaries and allies.<p>

Their group was strong and dangerous with brains, brawns, mechs and biotics.  
>They saw themselves as a family and that made them into a strong unity. And their ship, Luna, was ever so powerful with her customs and upgrades. They were on top of the world. It felt like nothing could break them all down.<p>

But it did…

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

They were relaxing or doing some stupid stuff on that day off, Zero was in the lab with Elli. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blow on the ship's shield. The ship shook and all of them were on their feet, armed themselves with whatever weapon they could find and began searching for the attackers. Then second and third blows hit the ship, and that shattered the shields, Zero didn't think it was possible but it did.

Then that's when they saw their attackers, the Collectors.

They were like a swarm, coming from everywhere, surrounding them. It was terrible, Zero saw his brothers/sisters were murdered by them. Strangely, the Collectors didn't kill any of the humans, they saw as Devin pleaded for mercy, he got shot with a paralyzing gun and was taken away before they could save him.

Suddenly Aeron called out to retreat, there were 9 of them, the others were either dead or got lucky and escaped. Zero would do anything to go back and searched for them, but he was needed there.

They fled to the cargo bay, Aeron led them again to safety.  
>He, Zero, Cherrise and Elli readied the fighters, while Creed and the others checked for any Collectors. Zero was going to take a ship with Elli, Creed and two others. Aeron and Cherrise were going to take the other ship with the rest.<p>

As they readied the ships, some Collectors were nearing their location.  
>Creed and the others tried to hold them off for the escape, it went fine at first,<br>but the Collectors were making it hard when more started to show up.

Shortly the ships were ready to launch,

Zero and Elli were in one while Aeron and Cherrise in another.  
>They signaled Creed to leave. But such cruelty of the universe, if Creed and the others didn't keep the fire play, the Collectors would overwhelm them before they could escape. Creed and the others knew this, and Creed broke the news to Zero and Aeron.<p>

He told them to go while they held them off for the launch.

Sacrifices were made. Engines roared.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Zero takes a seat on the couch by the coffee table, resting a hand on his helmet.

Letting the memory played away, no matter how much he dislikes to relive them.

He can never stop it.

...

* * *

><p><strong>I didn't want to make this chap too long, so OC's past were divided in two chaps.<strong>

**Don't forget to Review, yes?**

**Thanks for reading and have a nice holiday.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Another day, another update.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>They jumped through the mass relay and to safety,<br>No Collectors were on their tail.  
>They had lost them.<br>But there were no celebrations.. No cheers.

All of them stood and sat in silence, tears slowly rolled down their faces.  
>That day, they lost their home and their family, they lost everything.<p>

They headed to Illium, Aeron had asked a friend's help for securing a private docking, without the knowledge of the authorities. Aeron kept the smile strong as he talked with the Asari. He got them in Illium and an apartment to live in.

Once there were 5, then 40… But now there were only 4 of them.  
>The Collectors broke something in them, their unity. Aeron was determined to avenge their family by going after the Collectors head on, he was never one to lose himself in rage, but things change people, it changed Aeron. Zero was opposed to his idea, he thought it was suicidal to take on the Collectors with their current conditions. Elli was scared as she watched Zero and Aeron continued to argue and argue. Cherrise always gone out somewhere to get some air and be alone, she was tired of hearing their bullshit, and she was tired of the pain in her heart.<p>

There's no family, if you are this disconnected to one another. Alas, that wasn't their biggest issue that time.  
>On their second day in Illium, The Collectors had found them. None of them contacted anyone other than Aeron's friend, no one knew about what had happened to the Luna, and no one would knew about their whereabouts, but the Collectors did.<p>

There were 8 or more of them, but he was sure all of them were elites.  
>They ambushed their hideout in the middle of the night. Zero was wide awake and patrolling the apartment. Since their arrival in Illium, he hadn't slept, not one night. The thought of the Collectors kept him awake and protective over his family, and the arguments he had with Aeron also had a small part in preventing him to sleep. He was walking through the hallway to their rooms, when he heard a door opened behind him. There he saw it, the intruder. One Collector got out from one of the rooms and now heading to the living room, it didn't notice Zero behind it.<p>

The intruder made Zero see red when he saw Elli's unconscious body on its shoulder, her closed eyes and pale face facing him. Zero took out his katana and sneaked behind the Collector. When there's a mere inches between them, he stabbed it on the back of its head. The stab was so powerful, it shattered its shield and went through its armor and skull. Zero pulled out his katana with no trouble and caught Elli before the Collector fell forward. Zero checked her and was relief that she was still alive.

He shouted for Aeron and Cherrise, but that only got him more Collectors.  
>He couldn't fight them properly with Elli in his arms, so he took cover in the living room. He shot them as best as he could from the cover while keeping Elli safe. He got one of them, but that didn't do any good and he's almost out of ammo. He had wanted to move to plan B, when suddenly, out of the blue, Aeron barged in to their rescue, he shot at the Collectors and went to Zero's side.<br>Again, Aeron came to make sure they were all safe.

Zero thought that they would get out of this alive, he'd apologize to him, find Cherrise and one day when they're back on their feet, they would destroy the Collectors. But that fantasy quickly died as he watched Aeron took a bullet to the head. As if time slowed down when Aeron's body stumbled down to the floor, blood surrounded him. Their one leader, their stone, their glue, their sun, his brother…

A grunt from Elli startled Zero, snapped him out of the shock, he forced himself to ignore whatever had happened and get Elli out.  
>He had only one risky move, he connected his omni with Elli's omni, synchronizing their omni. Before the Luna's demise, they had developed a mod to their omni and shield, a cloaking mod. It's not entirely done, but he didn't have time to care. He was about to do that before Aeron showed up, and as much as he wanted to do it with Aeron, he couldn't, the mod was only installed in both of its creator's omnis, their last and an unfinished project of theirs, not yet shared. When it's finished, Zero hit the final command and they suddenly vanished into thin air. The Collectors were surprised, looking everywhere for them but found nothing. Zero and Elli had become invincible, cloaked, and they had slipped out of the place, unharmed.<p>

Zero ran to their private docking bay, the Asari had provided them before, it wasn't far from the apartment. The mod burst and stop working as he was near their ships. He blocked any other thoughts and memories that tried to tell him about the previous events when he went inside the ship. He set Elli on the passenger's seat, buckled her up, and then went to the pilot seat and prepared the ship to launched.  
>It took few minutes, but finally, they were ready and there were no Collectors at sight. He cloaked the ship and drove them out of Illium and to the Mass Relay. He picked the first place that popped into his mind, and that's to the Terminus System.<p>

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

As the ship steadily flew in the calm familiar space, Zero slumped down in his seat. His memories were finally catching up to him. He gripped his helmet, opened it by force and threw it away. His messy black hair covered his watery eyes. He stared at the space and drove the ship towards Omega. Tears flow down his cheeks, but he didn't make any sound, he just drove with a wet straight face.

When Elli woke up, she looked around to see that she's not in her room, she was in their ship. She looked at the pilot window and saw that they're heading to Omega. She looked again for any familiar faces in the ship, but there's only one person there, the one who's driving the ship. She unbuckled herself and walked to the driver, she saw a helmet on the floor not far beside the pilot's seat, Zero's helmet.

She saw dried up tears on Zero's unmasked face, the face that she never saw before. She always wanted to find out about his face, but the blank look on his face was very scary, it's like he's not there.. like he's dead. She asked him what had happened and why were they in the ship, trying to get that blank expression to change and leave his handsome face. Zero stared at the space in front of him while explained to her with a flat voice and unchanged look, he told her about how he had founded her, told her how they had escape, told her about Aeron, told her that he didn't know what became of Cherrise, told her that it was all his fault, and told her that he was a failure.

Elli didn't say a thing, she didn't cry, she didn't show anything.  
>She was the youngest, the group's little hyper sister and the loudest one. She expressed almost anything so easily, but that day she had nothing to express. She stayed like that, staring into nothingness, stood in silence beside Zero while he drove the ship to Omega.<p>

Zero was quiet, much quieter than he usually did. It was like he had no desire to control his body anymore and it was like his body was on auto-pilot, just like in the past. He felt nothing, switched off and wanted to disappear. He wanted his soul to leave this weak and useless body, so useless it had let those Collectors killed his family. "How useless can you be" he kept on chanting the sentence in his head. He was cold, ready to disconnect permanently, ready to leave this world. He was ready.

But warmth.

He felt sudden warmth around him.

When he recovered from the darkness, he saw Elli on his lap, hugging him, crying on his chest.  
>She cries, snorts, and whimpers tiny questions to Zero. "What now?" "What are we going to do?" "Why?" "Why us?" "Where are we gonna to go?" "What will we do?" and other questions too soft to be heard. She made Zero came back to reality, made him feel a will to stay alive, to stay in this world, to stay just to stop her cries. To make her smile and let out that roaring laugh of hers.<br>He turned on the ship's auto-pilot and then held her tight, whispering comforting.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=**

And so it was the two of them back on the streets of Omega. There was a painful feeling to be back here with what had just happened. But Elli was at his side, she needed Zero to stay strong and he needed her for relying on him.

The both of them went into total hiding, they hid their ship in the old junkyard where they first found Luna. They changed their looks, even Zero walked around without his mask, only a scarf loosely covering his neck and casual clothings. All of their Luna's belongings, armors and clothes were stashed in the ship, but they kept the pistols, only the pistols.

The both of them took some jobs, trying to get some credits without attracting any needless attention.  
>Even though the pay was little, but at least nobody suspected that they were Lunas or even recognized them as Zero and Elli.<br>Heck, even none of them seemed to know that Luna had been destroyed.

The days didn't go on so smoothly for them at first. Sometimes they had to sleep inside the ship, sometimes they ate less and sometimes none. And the whispers about Luna's disappearance only made things worse. The mercenaries in Omega didn't know what had happened to the Luna, but they were starting to get paranoid, fearing that the Lunas were plotting against them because of their absences. They tried to reach the Luna, but to no gain.  
>Zero had heard the gossips, and he guessed that none of the Luna's member were found, no any survivors, not even the dead bodies were founded, not even Aeron's. The Collectors had covered their trace, hidden all the bodies.<p>

3 weeks passed and the Mercenaries became more restless and paranoid to the mysterious disappearance of the Luna.  
>Meanwhile, Zero and Elli had made a good progress with their life, enough to rent an apartment, enough food and the gossips were easier to ignore. Zero worked day and night for the both of them, getting more than one job. He didn't want to make Elli too exhausted, especially with her sudden health change. The change started to show five days after they'd arrived in Omega. She was starting to feel immense headaches and her body felt weaker.<p>

Zero took her to see a doctor, but even the most popular doctor in Omega couldn't help her.  
>Dr. Solus had told him that she was poisoned, a poison he had never seen or heard before. The doctor babbled on and on, but in the end he asked for more time and for her constant visits to his Clinic. Zero would do anything for Elli to be cured, anything...<br>When he thought back about the cause of her poisoning, he could only assumed that the Collector who carried her before, had done something to make her unconcious, something that kept on harming her health day by day, until a cure is found.

As the days passed, even with the doctor's help, the poison in her still harmed her, she became thinner, weaker and sometimes she just curled up in bed holding a hidden pain. Zero was very afraid for her, he had never feel such a fear before. He's very afraid to lose her.  
>But Elli still smiled, kept telling him that she's okay.<br>Trying to distract him by telling him about how much progress they had made, trying to change the topic to something pleasant, but Zero knew better. He didn't try to stop her distractions, he let her, let her mumbled anything that had come to her mind, anything, and he would just be there and listened.  
>Zero had done anything she asked for, whatever she wanted, he would do it. And when she asked him to hold her one night, he did it without question, but because he wasn't a very people person, it went kinda awkward. Thankfully, Elli showed him how and the awkwardness quickly went away. He held her gently, he felt her cuddled up to his chest and it was very warm… and nice.<br>Since then he always held her every night when they went to sleep. He often woke up in the middle of the night just to check the woman in his arms. He had feared that she would stop breathing. He had feared that she would never wake up.

**=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=**

Zero slumps down to the couch, he saw that the Normandy is taking off.  
>Slowly leaving the dock.<br>He briefly remembers her smiling face on the dark space.  
>He takes the last can of beer in hand, and opens it.<p>

In the last two months before the year ends,  
>Zero had saved up enough money for his plan to leave Omega and to travel to the Citadel with Elli. He told her that it was to make some new changes in the scenery, but of course it was a lie. The only reason he had planned for this was because he had to find a better hospital. Dr. Solus was a great doctor, but he couldn't help her, and the lack of equipments at his clinic, couldn't help Elli any further. So he had to try to bring her to the doctors in the Citadel.<br>Her condition was very frightening now. Some days she just laid down on the bed all day, holding the pain.

He had planned for this two months ago.  
>He did some favors and got them IDs for getting in the Citadel. And he had repaired their old ship, re-colored it even. The trip to the Citadel was peaceful. It always seemed so peaceful after their first arrival in Omega months ago, it was like the Collectors had given up in hunting them, like there's no Collectors at all. But one thing happened 5 days ago, and it made him remember about the Collectors.<br>Just as he was about to announce his plan to Elli, he overheard one of the Blue Suns talking to a man with a scarred face, He told the man that the missing Lunas were not missing after all, he heard that they had been massacred. The man asked him where did he got the information, he told the man that the Shadow Broker gave them the intel. Zero cringed when he heard that, the familiar pain was starting to crawl back, but he knew how to hold it down after plenty of practice and ignorance.

The Shadow Broker always knows about everything important in the galaxy, even though it took some time, but in the end he/she knew about it. Well, it took them 5 months to know the Luna's fate. Zero wondered just how they knew and how much did they knew, but such thoughts were quickly forgotten, as he focused back to Elli, she was what important to him right now. So he told her the plan, and didn't mention anything about the Shadow Broker.

In the Citadel, they had signed in with their IDs. And nothing had turned bad for them, it all went smoothly. They rent a comfy apartment and made themselves at home. But soon Elli realized Zero's true intentions, and that was when they were in the hospital.  
>Elli giggled at his worries, she told him that she's okay, but did nothing when Zero insisted.<p>

Unfortunately, even the brightest doctors can't identify her sickness, they didn't even recognize it as a poison, before Zero told them. The doctor suggested that Elli were to be treated in the hospital, doing whatever they can to boost her health and try to find a cure.  
>Zero agreed and so Elli was treated at the Huerta Memorial Hospital. He visited her every day after his new job as a shop assistant was finished. They had enough money from Omega, this was just a cover for them to completely blend in.<p>

A week passed, more tubes were connected to her.  
>The doctors tried to inject some vitamins and protein into her, but the poison corrupted most of it. The poison became more aggressive, killing any chance for Elli to have anything healthy into her. Every time Zero visited her, he had wished he had never brought her here. To see her like this was just too painful, but it kept her alive, kept her here by his side, kept her smiling at him, kept reaching for his hand, holding it while she asked him about his day.<br>Zero prayed-wished for her hand to stay warm, he desperately needed it to stay warm.

But again… It didn't last.  
>She passed away on the 22th of November 2182 at 11 pm.<p>

Zero always slept in the hospital since she was treated. And his habit to wake up in the middle of the night still hadn't stopped.  
>So that night, he woke up, he looked at the time, 10.45 pm.<p>

He peeked at Elli and saw her up and tapping something in her omni tool. She had some trouble using her omni with the tubes in the way, but she managed. He got up and walked to her side, she smiled, but her eyes never leaving her omni.  
>He looked at what she was doing with her omni and he saw that she was writing a message.<br>He asked her who was she planning to send it to, but after he asked her that she stopped writing and tapped the send button.

Zero's omni beeped, he received a message. He looked at Elli with a raised eyebrow and then opened his omni.  
>He opened the message and read it.<br>To this day, he still kept that very message in his omni.

**To be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>The next one will be the last about the past.<strong>

**I wanted to put all of it in this chap, but the cliffhanger I couldn't resist.**

**Thanks for reading and have a good day.**


End file.
